NEWS & AWARDS
SOS Children's Village - Mamelodi
On the 21st of July, the Pretoria office staff visited the Mamelodi SOS children’s village, to hand over clothes and shoes donated by the Pretoria office staff. The visit proved to be an eye opener for the staff. The staff was welcomed by the Office Administrator Tryphina Masemola.
SOS Mamelodi was built in 1986, due to an identified need for a children’s home in Mamelodi and its surrounding areas. They also have an early childhood development programme for children under the age of 6, from the Mamelodi community. The family strengthening programme which is their outreach programme is the last of the functions which they offer in the village and it is looking at the needs of children who are at risk of losing parental care but living with their biological families in their communities. The children’s village accommodates children who are facing various challenges in their families, from physical abuse to neglect. It also takes in children from child-headed households and households where children are living with terminally ill parents. Children are sent to the village through the courts, and are looked after by what is referred to as a “Mother”. The village depends solely on donations from members of the public. The staff of SOS village were truly grateful for the clothes donated by the Pretoria iX engineers staff.
Ms. Masemola of SOS village mentioned that staff are welcome to even “adopt” a child for a weekend or during school holidays, pending a thorough screening process. For more information, please visit http://sosvillages.org.za/
iX Ambassadors’ goodwill touching the lives of many occupants of The Haven Nightshelter, Bellville
The iX Ambassadors based in the Cape Town Office, decided to donate non-perishable food, drinks and clothing to the less fortunate for their 2017 goodwill effort in honor of Nelson Mandela’s legacy.
As we pulled up at the Nightshelter many aspects went through my mind, witnessing the circumstances around the shelter and the homeless people gathering around the gates probably not wanting to go too far in order to be allowed in again later the afternoon. Sadness filled my heart, pondering on how bad choices can affect our lives, and reminded me how important it is to make the right choices. Actions have consequences and with that comes responsibility. We are responsible for our own lives nobody else.
The people were quite friendly and I honestly take my hat off to the staff. They were happily busy performing their daily tasks, cleaning the kitchen, preparing for the next meal. The shift manager heartily welcomed and thanked us for the contributions and said they mainly survive on such and mentioned how truly grateful they are.
Without hesitance he gladly offered to take us on a tour through the shelter and WOW the place was clean, it is old and needs some work, but it is clean. You could see they have pride in the place they call home, even though it is only for 3 months. They are taught to take care of themselves and their surroundings, teaching them discipline and responsibility.
The Shelter gives them the opportunity to change their lives. The drug addicts are sent for rehabilitation and the discipline is strict he says. You need to be stern and keep them in line in order to teach them discipline again he says. They have two shelves with books, which they call their own little library, to occupy them and keep them off the streets as well as a communal television which they are only allowed to watch between 4pm and 8pm except on weekends when they are allowed to watch the 8pm movie on E-TV where after it is “lights-out”. The usual lights-out are at 9pm.
He took us through the dormitories and explained that each section has their own type of people in order for them to succeed in trying to reform them, make them feel human and that somebody cares. Even their bedding was clean and neat and there was laundry hanging on the washing lines, which they also need to wash themselves or pay someone to do it for them, even though it’s a minimal fee. They have for example, Old aged people, drug addicts, reformed drug addicts almost ready to go back in society, even working people busy finding their feet that actually needs to pay for their board and lodging. It was quite an amazing experience which made me realize you really need to have a love for what you do because it does not go well with everybody doing social services. How blessed these angels are... How blessed we are...
Their doors are always open should anybody want to assist in any way!